My Menagerie... PPF

No surprises today in guessing what I might have drawn for this weeks Paint Party Friday link up.

Of course it had to be chook related at some stage.

We have two breeds of chicken living here with us... Maran and Bluebell.

My painting is a little mix of both of them.

Definitely free range with my painting...haha! 

(Sorry I couldn't resist that)

This painting could be 'Flo' the soft sister of 'Big Bertha' (Maran) and 'Canny Annie' (Bluebell) 

(nee Anxious Annie... I've changed her name, because I think she's actually really switched on. 

She works the system and gets just what she wants/needs!)

The bowl of eggs show our morning collection of fresh eggs. 

All four girls are firing on all cylinders and we have four beautiful eggs daily.

Happy Chooks indeed.

I couldn't resist popping them into this bowl with the rooster on it.

It's a really old cereal bowl, that we got when my children were very small and we lived in Brunei.

As you can probably guess...it came with a famous cereal.

So this portrait is called AnnieFlo' 

Now who remembers 'Hetty'?

NO! Before you mention it...we haven't got a Highland Cow now!

I draw the line there...although with my hubby and his hobbies...ie hot tub he may well decide to try and persuade me to have one!

I met up with an old friend last week and she mentioned how much she liked my Highland Cow painting, so I thought I'd revisit it and have a go at painting another. 

I find it fascinating how my painting is progressing and it's not until I look back that I see and realise that I'm evolving as an artist. 

Do you find the same with your art?

Hopefully, I'm moving in the right direction! 

I have also had the pleasure of receiving photographs of my Giraffe painting in their new homes.

I have two in Australia, two in USA and a few in the UK.

That seriously makes me smile :D

So on that happy note I shall love and leave you this week.

Thanks Eva and Kristin for hosting PPF once more.

Have a brilliant weekend everyone 

An Eclectic Mix... PPF

Hello everyone... TGIF as they say, although the weekends are very much like the weekdays now.

It's been quite a busy stressful time here, with trying to get Muffin back to health. 

I've just come back from the vets yet again. 

We've been every other day for two weeks now, but we think we're making some progress.

No more trying to hide tablets in food... she sussed that one out very early on.

We now manhandle her and squirt the meds down her throat by syringe. 

It's a two man job which is quite unbelievable as she's only a mini shihtzu. 

Anyway, her weight has stopped dropping, so the 'roast chicken' and carbs with added sensitivity food seems to be working. 

Yesterday, she was more like her old self than she has been for weeks. 

I suppose this could be taken as my excuse for not having artwork to show you this week... but I have had a little play with the Muffin painting.

It's still unfinished, but hopefully I'll be able to spend a little more time on it soon.

They look a little scary with their staring eyes at the moment...but I feel this painting will be one that will be played with for quite some time to come. 

There can be so many layers added when hair is involved.

I thought I'd give myself a little treat and draw something that I can relax with... to lose myself in and my son came up with the perfect idea.

A Tiger!

I'm hoping you will be able to see the few pencils lines that I've used to get the dimensions.

I'll be using black ink to add in the details.

I drew a wolf a few years back for my son and so will keep to that kind of design.

Finally, before I leave you today I thought I'd let you see my Mother and Baby Giraffe A5 prints.

(They are available in my Etsy show...see button in my sidebar)

I'm still watching the Giraffe Live webcam of April and Oliver over at the Animal Adventure Park 

I can't believe that she's not had her baby yet... she looks like she's about to burst! 

Some people have been watching the live webcams every day/night since February! 

Hehe...I'm thrilled because I now have my own little herd! 

One more thing before I go... I must apologise to everyone that has visited me and left me beautiful messages. I'm sorry that I haven't been visiting everyone...but as I mentioned it's been quite a few hectic weeks, so please forgive me and I'll try to get to you soon.

In the meantime... have a wonderful weekend and I'm off to see the Paint Party Friday gang...why not join me...just click here

Mother Giraffe and her Baby Painting

It's been a very strange week, but one thing that has kept me sane (or as near to sane as I can be) has been completing this watercolour painting below... of a Mother Giraffe and her Baby.

I've intermittently been watching the live webcam footage of April, the giraffe who is about to give birth any day now, in the USA. 

She has quite a fan club and if you'd like to visit... click on the options below:

YouTube, Animal Adventure Park, or Facebook.

I'm trying to set up my Etsy shop once again and these cuties will hopefully appear in time for Mother's Day. 

If you'd like to see the painting from the beginning of the process, then click below:

Giraffe and Baby Painting

I'll be linking up to WOYWW (if they'll allow me, because I haven't done that for quite some time)

Click here if you'd like to see more work spaces.
And because it's Friday I'll be joining in with the Paint Party Friday

Thanks for your visit and I would love for you to leave a comment so that I know you've been here.

Enjoy your weekend and I hope to see you again soon

p.s. For those that know Muffin hasn't been well and loosing lots of weight... the latest news is that I've just left her at the vet's once again for her scans, x-rays and investigations.
Can I ask that you use all your positive energy, prayers and thoughts to help Muffin recover.
Thank you

April The Giraffe with her baby... PPF

Can you believe it? 

There's not a feather in site in my painting this week.

I decided to give the current trend of bird paintings a little rest for this week.

Something else has caught my eye and if you live in the US, you may well be aware of April the Giraffe who has a live webcam in her pen, in readiness for her imminent birth. 

She's already given birth to four babies...so she seems to know what she's doing.

There is quite a few people watching now and some have even been watching since day one of the transmission. There's quite a community of people watching whilst chatting, but as with these things there's always the trolls trying to spoil it, but you can easily switch off the comments. 

So I thought I'd give April some attention myself and try to paint her with her baby.

Oh yes, and there's to be a naming competition. 

I'd prefer to see her out in the wild, but April was actually born in the captivity.

She even kissed her keeper this morning.

There's still such a long way to go on this painting, but at least it's allowing me painting time, because it's been quite an emotional week and I didn't want to paint initially.

We had to say another goodbye to a family member 

(I may do a separate post about her... because she was an exceptional and inspiring woman who was greatly loved and will be missed. 

She was quite a character too) 

 I've also been worried about Muffin.

She's lost quite a lot of weight so we're keeping a close eye on her... not that we don't normally anyway.

Here's a little clip of her walking through the woods... where you wouldn't think anything was wrong or that she was 13 years old!

She's got quite a swish on her toosh hasn't she? 

Today is Paint Party Friday's 6th Birthday, so if you can spare a few moments, then click here

I hope you have a happy day and great weekend.

Thanks for your visit once again and I hope to see you again soon.